5rebel9

So, yea indeed they all have the rear deck lock/unlock button. and they all work both ways on our 3. BUT much to a HOPE I had .... NO it will NOT unlock if fob is inside the front of the car, should someone inadvertently lock the fob in the car. Since I have 2 fobs for the '14, I tried it and found the disheartening result. :{

And the same MERRY CHRISTMAS greetings back to you! yes he is in his third year with WNYPA, and they share track time on a lot of their runs with the railroad {freight} out of Buffalo around the "Southern Tier" of NY. The company has had a substantial turnover in employees since he's been there. most didn't like the working hours. After what he got himself into buying a house, he's happy to work the long hours for now!

The so called "mechanic" needs to reinstall whatever he took out and then see if being able to shift{I GUESS you mean won't come out of PARK} returns. A VERY COMMON battery drain problem with your daughters year is from a misaligned glove box light switch. There are many posts of this found in the forum here. IF you open the glove box and manually with a finger can turn the light off, that does NOT mean the glove box door is able to do the same and not moving the switch enough to turn off the light. IF that is not the problem, then yes member jkeaton is correct and probably best done by a competent auto tech as sight unseen to the forum here that there are SO MANY POSSIBILITIES that we could only guess to the actual problem.

Very well liked by executives and co workers as a matter of fact. Loved trains since a baby ! He has collections of toy and model trains that overflow his old bedroom. On his job interview he even corrected "bosses" about types of cars and terms! We found out today that he is coming back home a day early {Thurs}, but has to work his normal shift Friday. He's going to be one tired puppy for the Christmas weekend! He's still waiting to find out if he has to do a run Christmas Day afternoon !

Sorry to say this , but you are now out of my league in understanding on how it would all "wire up" and work. I actually like the radio reception and clarity of the 2 4.3 screen radios over the '13 RT's big screen and supposed amplified premium radio. To me, if it works......don't mess with it!

A 4.3" bezel? Without looking up your media pic's you are still using factory screen? Our '11 and '14 have the 4.3 screens and find the cubby hole underneath rather unnecessary, nice idea of your further updating!

YES He's a train engineer for a short line freight RR that has 2 hubs. His "home base" is in Olean,NY and is covering for vacation time Engineer in Meadville, Pa. Meadville is a smaller operation. He says he likes the work hours better{day shift}/shorter there than the usual 12 hours thru late afternoon into the wee early morning hours of his "home base".Of course the pay is is better at his home base due to hours worked.

UPDATE about the '11 Mainstreet...... My son came home for the weekend from temp posting of his job in Pa. SO Wife and I went over to his home to "visit" Sunday early afternoon and I took my tablet with Alphaobd and hood switch and new fob to try again and program for use AND remote start. Things did not go "smoothly", but I managed to finally program in the fob to the car, Unfortunately by the time I got that done the battery had discharged enough to not start the car and had to jump it off the '14 we had driven over in.By then it was getting well into the first quarter of the BILLS/ cowboys game so we decided to wait for another day to try for the remote start function. GO BILLS!!!!! OLD TIMER that I am and finding that navigating a tablet is a bit different than my PC and keyboard did not help along with learning just where and how to find the pages of Alphaobd to work with this more base model and year Journey to do what I want had me rather stressed and disappointed. I'm not big into "computer/programming" type stuff and am much more comfortable with "hands on" mechanical things {as my wearing out body will allow}. As I type this , my son is already on his way back to his train duties in Pa., a 2.5 hour drive.

I believe if you look in the owners book and underhood sticker you will find the call for Copper core plugs. No I don't think it to be coils. Another area to investigate due to such mileage is for worn out engine/ trans mounts. You can find many youtube videos about them with a Google search, just don't be model year specific as the mounts are the same for all years with the 2.4 motor. As far as throwing fault codes NO unless you are getting actual misfires. EDIT: We have some very good members that have the 2.4 engined DJ's. , and I gladly defer to their recommendations as to plugs . Mine are all the 3.6and have different spec recommendations. Still try a can of Seafoam in the tank and run it and see how it does.

If this has only RECENTLY started happening, then I doubt it is in computer programming. What type plugs were put in? Many report problems when using other than recommended Copper Core plugs.

how many miles on the vehicle and when were the spark plugs last replaced? both idle and third gear are engine load times that worn spark plugs can show this condition. also try running a can of Seafoam in the fuel tank.

SORRY FOR THE WRONG "SCOOP". I've been a long time member of an Avenger forum and the 2.4 engined models are always complaining of this problem, I can't recall 1 post of the decoupler pulley failing or cause of whine on the 3.6 ones there. My 3 are 140k+ miles and are original alternators and no problems from them. BTW @John/Horace, My{?} '14 is the same BLUE as from your pics for rear hatch! I hope this does not "jinx" yours!

OH MY GOODNESS! Thanks so much as to those pic's. YES the '14 has that AND it works! I never noticed that before and will definitely "check it out" on the other 2 ...when they come home to the "nest". My son has his '11 down in Pennsylvania as a temporary engineer for the railroad company he works for until 12/22. The '13 will be home later this afternoon. One thing I did find is that the FOB needs to be with you, just like for the front doors. Hatch handle is working like brand new with the "lube job" from yesterday!

The 2.4 motor is the only one that employs a decoupler pulley on the alternator, and often the cause of noise around 80-100k mile vehicles. Some left unattended to will fail completely and allow no charging ability of the alternator. Glad it worked out for you!

Is that a Canadian model thing for outside hatch lock button? None of my 3 have that feature. AT LEAST YOU CAN BE OUT OF THE COLD WINDS! Just got done with lubing up the handle AND also the latch pivot on the LATCH. i believe THE HANDLE WAS NOT IN THE FULLY RELEASED POSITION FROM THE "STICKINESS" AND THUS HAD SOMETHING TO DO WITH THE FUNCTION OF THE LOCK SOLENOID YESTERDAY{sorry... caps lock activated and I'm to lazy to correct the type}

Well, this car just has me always wondering as to "what next"! yesterday I had just driven the car and when I parked and got out all doors unlocked and should have unlocked the hatch....it didn't. I just went out with the fob and tried the lock/unlock a few times and heard the hatch lock functioning and on unlock the hatch released. Did it a few times and all worked as normal, but I did notice that the hatch handle was a little "sticky". I'll go back out with some lubricating spray and lube up the handle pivots. Only been almost a year since I did that last. I don't know what happened, but as long as I can get the hatch open for now...I'm happy with that {till the next time}! I never got to drive any of the 3 Journeys much before, only when my family would complain about something with them. I was wanting to drive this '14 instead of my Buick thru most of the Winter

Well the '14 is still on my bad list. It just seems to want constant attention. Now the rear hatch won't open from the outside handle and it's 30* and windy out and no shelter to put it inside to work on!. So this car wants me to fix it and come down with pneumonia just before Christmas!!! I will post up just what I find as the culprit, I suspect broken wire in the body to hatch rubber boot or the cable from handle to latch.

You stated that there is a liked by you TIRE SHOP nearby. GO TO THEM and have them scan each wheel position to check each sensor in each wheel. This is the cheapest and easiest thing to start diagnosing this problem.`2 years old and sensors are OLD and usually only good for around 8 years IF YOU ARE LUCKY.. As I said, FIRST place to start then dig deeper.

Only our '13 is equipped with bluetooth/phone, and I almost never am in this Journey to know what you're speaking of. Just where is this blinking light and phone icon located that you post of, and what side of the driver side floor{door or console}? Is yours equipped with phone switch on left side of steering wheel switch unit?

Well, the '14 is back home and I drove it 60 miles with NO NOISES from the trans. and running quite nicely. $14 for doughnuts and settled at $550 for flex plate and fluids with a bit of labor. Going to Christmas gift him before the holiday of an additional $100. Part for son's home furnace won't be here till a Tues. install time, and already have quote for part and labor that he says he can well handle. Probably going to have 3 overnight "guests" with us tonight and Sunday night, son, his fiance and her cat. It will be interesting to see how our old cat will take to another cat being in "her turf"! We have a veritable heat wave for the season coming Friday and Sat.

Camber link arms were replaced on the '14 and '11 with moog non adjustable units, and NOT hard to do. I had also bought thru rock auto 2 sets of adjustable units due to a very good price but have not used them yet. The '14's main problem turned out to be the toe link arms, which I replaced and installed greaseable eccentric bolts. That was NOT easily done due to WNY RUST. I set rear toe by alternate {non alignment machine}method, and have a total toe of 0" as it should be. I spent a lot of my auto tech career doing suspension/alignment work, so am pretty confident all will be good on the '14. In my opinion the toe links should have been designed like the adjustable camber links.

Thanks ! Health is pretty much back, but still need to see my Dr. about some lingering "issues". Just heard from my friend that yes indeed it was a defective torque converter, and all is good now. BUT he wants me to come over and bring doughnuts and sit down and discuss the bill with him. Out of one frying pan and into another as also today a major part in my son's house furnace went bad, NO HEAT and overnight temps in the 20's with daytime temps around 32*. Luckily forced air and not hot water baseboard. He has only been in the house he just bought for 3 months.... Dad to the "rescue"????

I now know why I missed your post....I was home recovering from a medical "scare" that sent me to the ER on Friday of Veterans day, and not on my computer for some time. Yes, of course I'll buy the crank sensor. I sure don't want a repeat of the hassle the '13 gave me in figuring out that problem. As my "overanalyzing brain does, I am HOPING that it is NOT the front pump of the trans and just the torque converter. He had unbolted the flex plate and converter, moved back the converter from the plate and run the engine....NO NOISE. And when he had replaced the flex plate there was no sign of trans fluid leaking in the bell housing from the trans front seal to give clue of "deeper in" trans trouble like the pump. But yeah, I'm going to wait on a replacement tire sensor till after the shock of the holidays and cost of whatever my bill will be for this '14!

I have not had ANY car with mileage that low in DECADES ! But our living out "in the sticks" means lots of driving miles to get anywhere, thankfully very little "crawling" stop and go city driving.

Somehow I missed seeing your post. NO I don't want to give up my Buick just yet! AND I have a status update on the three. After much normal maint. for the 2011, the car is now titled and plated to our son. This was the car he had been using for the last 4 years and likes it, even though it is lower trim. My auto insurance costs are cut almost in half now....HOORAY! After the crank sensor replacement, the 2013 rt is doing WONDERFUL, and wife very much likes it! NOW the bad news The 2014 has seemed to come down with a myriad of problems lately Was wearing the inner tread of rear tires badly. Parts replaced were upper camber links...still the same wear on new tires tape measure toe check found toe out of 3/4" . So I replaced the toe links and eccentric bolts and total toe now at 0", but have to get another 2 tires, the fronts have not even worn 1/32" Worst problem. A while back the torque converter clutch failed. My friend replaced with a new torque converter. BUT 3 months later with easy use driving and all gears engaging perfectly, we have a funky scraping noise coming from the trans bellhousing area. My friend is 99.5% sure it is a defective torque converter. He has the vehicle and is waiting for another converter to arrive to take the trans back out and replace the converter. The real BUMMER is that we had also suspected a cracked FLEX PLATE...and it was so the trans was just out for that but still had the noise. Says he's going to work big time with me on all this transmission related work {$$} and if I spend the $20 will also replace the crank sensor{as a precautionary due to our '13's crank sensor failure}, since the trans will be out and easy to change then. Last and most minor is still getting intermittent RF tpms drop out and message so much talked about on the forum. Still like all 3 DJ's, but the '14 is on my "bad list"!